[Round 1, Game 5] Houston Rockets @ Portland Blazers

[Swack]

Blake actually made a clutch play lol.

Roy looked a bit slow tonight, I guess he really is sick. He was falling short on his jumper and couldn't finish around the basket uncharacteristically.

I thought we had a chance to steal it with him playing like that but then he went all Jordan on us. An assist for a 3, made a 3, then the floater.

Pretty damn good.

[AK48]

Calm down guys. The result of this game has been predesgined by david stern. No matter how hard and how good you play, referees would done a better job to kill you. If Brooks shot well, referees would have fouled him out early. If you led by 5, referees would give at least 6 Fs to portland. All in all, if stern does not want you win, even KB+LBJ+Yao+CP3+.... cannot win. period.

NBA is just a joke.

[dunleavyjr]

Ok, you Rockets fans, wanna hear my comment on this game?

Here goes.

I ain't gonna talk too much because my focus is on the 4th quarter.
The momentum shift in Portland's favor after Yao's exit for a rest.
What happened since? Offensively, Rockets dropped dead.
Defensively, Kyle Lowry and Carl Landry kept committing silly team fouls which
eventually sent Portland to the line due to foul limit being over.

Yao came back, no body went to him. Everybody, Artest, Brook, just went
1-on-1. Execution was terrible.

I'm done talking. Your turn.

[stockmarketgod]

Ok, you Rockets fans, wanna hear my comment on this game?

Here goes.

I ain't gonna talk too much because my focus is on the 4th quarter.
The momentum shift in Portland's favor after Yao's exit for a rest.
What happened since? Offensively, Rockets dropped dead.
Defensively, Kyle Lowry and Carl Landry kept committing silly team fouls which
eventually sent Portland to the line due to foul limit being over.

Yao came back, no body went to him. Everybody, Artest, Brook, just went
1-on-1. Execution was terrible.

I'm done talking. Your turn.

thats cause we have some real boneheads on this team.. Artest and AB atleast Artest didnt launch up 20 + shots this game it would have been a a even bigger blow out

[Roxflynorth]

Calm down guys. The result of this game has been predesgined by david stern. No matter how hard and how good you play, referees would done a better job to kill you. If Brooks shot well, referees would have fouled him out early. If you led by 5, referees would give at least 6 Fs to portland. All in all, if stern does not want you win, even KB+LBJ+Yao+CP3+.... cannot win. period.

NBA is just a joke.

Right is right wrong is wrong. Yeah the refs were horrible tonight but it didn't mean we didn't have the chance winning the game. The refs didn't make us lose the game it was our TOs and poor executions down the stretch caused us the game. We played like one of the elite team one day and played like sxxx on another one. This minute we played well enough to beat anybody and the next minute collapse. Consistency!!! talking about it the whole season and nothing has changed. Give credit to Portland. Portland wanted this game more than us, that's how it was.

[hackle]

we lost it ourselves. 77 points is just horrible. we couldnt keep any lead. good teams maintain leads, bad teams blow it. from game 2 on we've been horrible, and we didnt deserve any of these wins. we are HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE

[Sinobas]

Haha we had our chance to win.

Portland got what they wanted more calls for them, too bad it was lopsided.

LOL 24 PF vs 12Pf

At least the last 4 games, the PF were almost even.

Anyway we will close this out Thursday, most us knew we would lose todays game.

You might want to check the foul totals through game 4 again grasshopper.

Also, in game 4 the officials counted a basket by Scola that he did not actually get off in time. We lost that game by 1 point, so there, they just gave you a game, and potentially the series right there. You Rocket fans should not be bitching about the refs, you should be thanking them for potentially gift-wrapping the series for you.

But look out, if you lose game 6, it's over.

[BaYBaller]

Really it was just the early fouls in the 4th. I think in one possession we fouled them 3x in a row, mostly stupid bump fouls. That just gave POR a ton of FTs down the stretch off things like loose ball fouls and the like and it just had a huge snowball effect.

Artest and Brooks both need to settle down. They didn't do anything in the flow of the offense and tried to take shots with defenders draped all over them.

[stockmarketgod]

I for one am not going to complain about the fouls... I mean im sure most were expecting it...

I guess im kinda use to it. especially when it comes to Yao.

I mean how many games have we seen this year where Yao has gotten like 0 FT attempts.

most people will agree when the defense is pounding on you and you are pushing back. its hard to tell if there is a foul.

but when Yao touches the ball 40 or 60 times in average game, and the opposing center like 7 times and the other guy has like 2 or 4 FT attempts to your 0 FT attempts... it makes me wonder.

but then who can forget the 2 on 0 break away where Yao stops in the key facing the net, not even looking back.... as our guy puts in a layup, and Howard runs into his back and Yao gets called for a foul.

if anything thats not unlike the fronting we are seeing right now on Yao...

makes me wonder...

but then I am use to it...

[2fast4u]

who cares? 4-2 rockets

[Iggyemu]

Well I didn't expect to win this game. Two reasons...we aren't as good on the road as Portland is at home so you know they would outplay us...especially down the stretch. This series has gone ideally for us IMO. Steal the first game when they don't know what to expect...take care of 3 and 4 and have a chance to win the series in game 6. So while we can go back and say that we left plays on the floor in game 5 or we didn't get the calls...fact of the matter is that we aren't good enough to get a road win against a great home team when they play to even 3/4 of their capacity.

The second reason being that usually when coaches complain in media after a game they'll get the calls in the next game....especially if that next game is in their gym. Thats just how it is in the NBA....if it didn't work nobody would do it. It works...every coach is doing it. They got the calls...they got the game they needed at home b/c it quite possibly could be their last one there. So they went out and played hard for those fans.

That being said we again had our opportunities. Last night...well...the Rockets can't make three 3s in a game and win. We are a jump shooting team...we are a 3 point shooting team and we can't shoot it that poorly. And of course...our nemesis. Bad turnovers showed up again last night. So if you aren't getting the calls and you aren't taking care of the ball and you aren't making your 3s....well you are gonna lose. And we lost. Whether or not it will linger is another question.

Tomorrow night is game 7 for us. We absolutely can't go back to Portland for game 7 b/c we won't get the calls. The NBA loves the Blazers...they are salivating at a possible Portland/LA series. If we let it get to game 7 we won't have a chance. Tomorrow is it for us. We have to put them away tomorrow. We'll need the best game this team has played all season. The Blazers might be young and inexperienced but they know that if they can find a way to steal game 6 in Houston that they will win this series. We are experienced enough to know that thats true. Game's on TNT...in Houston....a 24-12 personal foul advantage won't be a good look for the NBA in terms of how people perceive the league. So tomorrow we have to jump on them and put them down early. If they even think they can beat us we'll be in for a rough game b/c they have a closer and we don't. We are capable of putting this team away and winning this series. So its game 7 for us tomorrow...lets see who are the big game players and who are the ones that Morey can just let go.

[Jack wore plaid]

While I fully expect the Rockets to handily beat Portland Thursday in game 6, I have really enjoyed seeing all of the whining about the refs in this thread. It sucks, doesn't it? Hopefully the refs will continue to call fouls on Yao and Scola when they foul Portland. If they do, Portland has a shot.

Either way, these two teams are pretty evenly matched, and it has been a fun series to watch. If you win Thursday, good luck against the L*kers.

[Jack wore plaid]

The NBA loves the Blazers...they are salivating at a possible Portland/LA series. If we let it get to game 7 we won't have a chance.

I am pretty sure the NBA loves the Chinese marketing dollars Yao will bring them more.

[smapor]

While I fully expect the Rockets to handily beat Portland Thursday in game 6, I have really enjoyed seeing all of the whining about the refs in this thread. It sucks, doesn't it? Hopefully the refs will continue to call fouls on Yao and Scola when they foul Portland. If they do, Portland has a shot.

Either way, these two teams are pretty evenly matched, and it has been a fun series to watch. If you win Thursday, good luck against the L*kers.

Please go back to your board.

1st you whine about the calls on the Rockets' board. We Whine in our own Rocket Board, we don't go to Portland boards crying about Ref calls.

Big difference.

[Iggyemu]

The NBA loves the Blazers...they are salivating at a possible Portland/LA series. If we let it get to game 7 we won't have a chance.

I am pretty sure the NBA loves the Chinese marketing dollars Yao will bring them more.

Nah..they love the American marketing dollars more. Hence Lakers/Celts last year. Lakers/Cavs this year. Get a clue nub.

[King Roosk]

Well I didn't expect to win this game. Two reasons...we aren't as good on the road as Portland is at home so you know they would outplay us...especially down the stretch. This series has gone ideally for us IMO. Steal the first game when they don't know what to expect...take care of 3 and 4 and have a chance to win the series in game 6. So while we can go back and say that we left plays on the floor in game 5 or we didn't get the calls...fact of the matter is that we aren't good enough to get a road win against a great home team when they play to even 3/4 of their capacity.

The second reason being that usually when coaches complain in media after a game they'll get the calls in the next game....especially if that next game is in their gym. Thats just how it is in the NBA....if it didn't work nobody would do it. It works...every coach is doing it. They got the calls...they got the game they needed at home b/c it quite possibly could be their last one there. So they went out and played hard for those fans.

That being said we again had our opportunities. Last night...well...the Rockets can't make three 3s in a game and win. We are a jump shooting team...we are a 3 point shooting team and we can't shoot it that poorly. And of course...our nemesis. Bad turnovers showed up again last night. So if you aren't getting the calls and you aren't taking care of the ball and you aren't making your 3s....well you are gonna lose. And we lost. Whether or not it will linger is another question.

Tomorrow night is game 7 for us. We absolutely can't go back to Portland for game 7 b/c we won't get the calls. The NBA loves the Blazers...they are salivating at a possible Portland/LA series. If we let it get to game 7 we won't have a chance. Tomorrow is it for us. We have to put them away tomorrow. We'll need the best game this team has played all season. The Blazers might be young and inexperienced but they know that if they can find a way to steal game 6 in Houston that they will win this series. We are experienced enough to know that thats true. Game's on TNT...in Houston....a 24-12 personal foul advantage won't be a good look for the NBA in terms of how people perceive the league. So tomorrow we have to jump on them and put them down early. If they even think they can beat us we'll be in for a rough game b/c they have a closer and we don't. We are capable of putting this team away and winning this series. So its game 7 for us tomorrow...lets see who are the big game players and who are the ones that Morey can just let go.

I couldn't have said it better.

[FoDrizzle]

Yup, the Rockets absolutely must win at home. If they lose tomorrow, then I expect Game 7 to be similar to the Mavs series a few years ago.

[moofs]

While I fully expect the Rockets to handily beat Portland Thursday in game 6, I have really enjoyed seeing all of the whining about the refs in this thread. It sucks, doesn't it? Hopefully the refs will continue to call fouls on Yao and Scola when they foul Portland. If they do, Portland has a shot.

Either way, these two teams are pretty evenly matched, and it has been a fun series to watch. If you win Thursday, good luck against the L*kers.

It doesn't matter which team it is. All teams have younger and/or more fiery fans. Those sorts are going to complain about perceived uneven refereeing, brush off the other fanbase's initial complaints in light of a win, throw the other team's fan's complaints back in their faces, and whatever else. This is missing the point that the refereeing has sucked both ways in this series, and to the bigger picture, in the NBA for years (Stern's swansong was the Miami series, too bad he was a decade too early. I mean, I felt bad for Dallas. DALLAS!! I LOATHE Dallas! It's all downhill from here, buddy boy!)

Of course the other question is how DO you balance fouls and violations when there are significantly more of them in a 48 minute game than could be called without completely destroying the game's flow, but that's more like a step 1.5 or 2...

Also yes, we'd better win game 6 if we want this series. It's not that we can't win game 7, it's that it's a very untrustworthy game.

[dartherus]

2 things we need to do this off season

Get rid of Brooks
Get rid of Artest

TOTALLY AGREE!!!

Both have great stats, they're good filling his stats cards, but they're POISON regarding any roster wanting to play as a TEAM.

The good stats they have should be used by FO to get them traded (S&T for Ron) for good TEAMPLAYERS in return, don't you think?